KOMEOTIS v WILLIAMSON FENCING
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No. 85-584 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 1987 KENNETH K. KOMEOTIS, Claimant and Appellant, -vsWILLIAMSON FENCING, Employer, and STATE COMPENSATION INSURANCE FUND, Defendant and Respondent. APPEAL FROM: The Workers' Compensation Court, The Honorable Timothy Reardon, Judge presiding. COUNSEL OF RECORD: For Appellant: Bottomly & Gabriel; Joe Bottomly, Great Falls, Montana For Respondent: Marra, Wenz, Johnson Falls, Montana & Hopkins; Thomas A. Marra, Great Submitted on Briefs: April 17, 1986 Decided: Clerk February 18, 1987 3 T o n t a n a S u p r :me ( ' o u r t J u s t i cc R u i ' 1 ; r ~ q : 2 1 5 Nor+:h Sal~?.e:-~; H e l e n a , P:T 59620 Date Februarv 19, 1987 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT West Publishing Co., P.O. Box 3526, St. Paul, MN 55165 Please make the following correction in the opinion in the case of: Title: KOBfEOTIS V . FJITtTJTAP~SONF E N C T N G and STATE COP4PEfJSATIOPJ IQS. FUYD, NO. 35-5 34, Vol. Rptr. (Decided 2/17/57) Page top from bottom. first column, line In second (Page 2 , line 4 from the top) . . . appeal whether the District Court erred in applyinq - . . . . . appeal applyinq . . . . should read in - , . whether the court erred - Signed The expense of making changes is such that we cannot undertake it for items of mere!y typographical style. West Publishing Co. N 182c Mr. Justice L. C. Gulbrandson delivered the Opinion of the Court. Kenneth Komeotis appeals from that part of a Workers' Compensation Court order which denies him a lump-sum payment of workers' compensation benefits. The dispositive issue on appeal is whether the District Court erred in applying S 39-71-741, MCA, retroactively to appellant's request for a lump-sum payment. We reverse and remand this case for proceedings consistent with this Court's decision in Buckman v. State Comp. Insurance Fund (Mont. 1.986), P.2d I 43 St.Rep. 2216. In February 1984, appellant suffered a work related injury which aggravated his degenerative arthritis. The respondent State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) accepted liability and paid temporary total disability benefits to appellant. In May 1985, the State Fund converted appellant's benefits to permanent total disability benefits. Appellant requested that the Workers' Compensation Court grant him a lump-sum payment of a large part of his anticipated benefits. The 1985 Montana Legislature amended S 39-71-741, MCA, the statute governing the lump-sum conversion of workers' compensation benefits. The amendments codified prior Montana case law on lump-sum conversions. The Workers' Compensation Court, in this case, found that the 1985 amendments enacted new, stricter guidelines for the granting of lump-sum payments. The court found that the amendments profound1.y changed the substantive law on such payments. The court then applied the new criteria from the 1985 amendments retroactively to appellant's case and denied him a lump-sum payment. This Court handed down the Buckman decision (cited above) after the Workers' Compensation Court's ruling in the instant case. In Buckman, this Court specifically held that the statutory guidelines in the 1985 amendment to ยง 39-71-741, MCA, could not he applied retroactively. Thus, the Workers' Compensation Court erred in applying the new claim. statute to appella.ntls We decline to address the other issues appellant raises. Reversed and remanded for further pro5@ings. We concur:
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